Driverless cars could speed up traffic and cut your journey time by a THIRD by communicating with each other

Researchers at Cambridge University found driverless vehicles communicating with each other could help maintain traffic flow when one lane is blocked

Dan Elsom

20 May 2019, 15:33

DRIVERLESS cars could help improve traffic flow and reduce journey times by as much as 35 per cent.

A recent study found autonomous cars communicating with each other together could drastically minimise the impact of a blockage in the road by removing the need for all vehicles to slow down.

3

Driverless cars could communicate with each other to improve traffic flowCredit: PA:Press Association

A team of researchers at Cambridge University programmed 16 miniature robotic cars to drive around a two-lane track and observed how the traffic flow changed when one of the cars stopped.

When the cars weren't driving co-operatively, any vehicles behind the stopped car had to stop or slow down and wait for a gap in the traffic - which is what usually happens on roads now.

A queue quickly formed behind the stopped car and overall traffic flow was slowed.

But when the cars started driving co-operatively, as soon as one car stopped in the inner lane, it sent a signal to all the other vehicles.

3

The study used 1:24 scale model cars to allow tests to be done indoorsCredit: PA:Press Association

Cars in the outer lane that were near to the stopped car slowed down slightly so that vehicles in the inner lane were able to quickly pass the stopped car without having to stop or slow down significantly.

The tests also showed how driverless cars could help improve overall road safety.

When a human-controlled car was put on the track with the autonomous cars and moved around in an aggressive manner, the other cars were able to give way to avoid the aggressive driver, reducing the chance of a collision.

3

Researchers at Cambridge University also plan to use the mini fleet to test multi-car systems in more complex scenariosCredit: PA:Press Association

The results, to be presented at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Montreal, will help work to study how autonomous cars can communicate with each other, and with vehicles controlled by human drivers, on real roads in the future.

The study's co-author Michael He, an undergraduate student at Cambridge's St John's College, said: "Autonomous cars could fix a lot of different problems associated with driving in cities, but there needs to be a way for them to work together."

more news on driverless cars

TV TIMES

Is Huddersfield vs Sheffield Wed on TV? Channel, live stream and kick-off time

FURY SURVIVES

Bloodied Fury beats tough Wallin on points before being rushed to hospital

Live Blog

FIGHT NIGHT LIVE

Fury vs Wallin LIVE RESULT: Bloody Fury WINS Vegas battle by decision

More live footy

How do I watch Sky Sports Red Button and which Championship games are on?

SLAM DUNK

Basketball World Cup final: TV channel, live stream and start time

PREVIEW

Watford vs Arsenal: Live stream, TV channel, kick-off time and team news

Co-author Nicholas Hyldmar, an undergraduate student at Downing College, said: "If different automotive manufacturers are all developing their own autonomous cars with their own software, those cars all need to communicate with each other effectively."

Many existing tests for multiple autonomous driverless cars are done digitally, or with scale models that are either too large or too expensive to carry out indoor experiments with fleets of cars.

The researchers plan to use the mini fleet to test multi-car systems in more complex scenarios including roads with more lanes, intersections and a wider range of vehicle types.